


It's All OK

by My_Best_Gal



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Best Friends, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Men Crying, My First Fanfic, Not Canon Compliant, One Shot, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Friendship, Steve Rogers Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 13:41:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14137188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Best_Gal/pseuds/My_Best_Gal
Summary: Steve and Tony oneshot that ignores Civil War and assumes Steve did the right thing and told Tony the truth.My first fanfic although I've been reading them for years!





	It's All OK

Tony is very aware that Steve isn’t saying anything, that he has in fact angled his body away from the other two. Probably trying to give them some privacy Tony thinks as he releases Bucky from the hug that had surprised them both and points him to the elevator where JARVIS is holding the doors and will take him to his own room. As Bucky disappears behind the doors, Steve still hasn’t moved and Tony turns to raise a quizzical brow. He expected Steve to be glued to his rediscovered buddy’s side until he was satisfied he was safe and settled. Tony’s stomach jolts painfully and any witty remarks die on his tongue as he sees tears coursing steadily down the stoic Captain’s face. Tony is abruptly terrified. He has never seen Steve cry before. The war vet has gone a little misty from time to time reminiscing about his old comrades and he’s seen a stray tear escape once or twice when Cap’s enduring pain beyond normal human capacity, usually after a battle, having those huge bones reset without the aid of drugs or adrenaline. Tony has always done the appropriate manly thing, squeezed a shoulder, patted a back and said nothing. This is new and appalling territory and Tony has his hands on Steve without thinking, one on the small of his back, oddly intimate and meant to comfort. The other is turning Steve to face him and fluttering from shoulder to arm to hip while Tony looks for a bullet wound or a bone sticking out where it shouldn’t be even though he knows that five minutes ago Steve was perfectly fine. The big guy doesn’t resist him, turning so that he’s face to face with Tony.   
“Steve… What?… Is…” panic steals the ends of Tony’s sentences and he’s sure there’s the flicker of a smile on Rogers’ face before he tries to reply but after a couple of attempts to speak and a deep breath that catches so audibly it sounds painful, Steve pushes a hand to his mouth and makes a noise like he’s had the air punched out of him. He squeezes his eyes shut so tight that his brow trembles.  
“Thank you.”  
It’s breathy and about three octaves lower than Steve’s usual voice but suddenly Tony gets it. This wonderful, brave man who will fight till he is battered and bloody and never wince, who will defend the people and stand up for his beliefs without ever wavering, this hero who has fought to bring his best friend back and weathered the Winter Soldier’s rages and Bucky’s heartbreak alike as a steady and calm presence, has been broken by someone else’s kindness to Barnes. Of course he would have expected a fight Tony muses, was ready to face anger and vitriol and the all too justified rage of the man whose parents had been taken away at the hand of the soldier seeking refuge in his own home. The relief if Tony had just turned a blind eye to Bucky moving in after a bitter row and then stayed the hell away from him probably would have been enough to bring poor Steve to his knees. But to see Tony so obviously hurting as much for Bucky as for himself and drawing the other man into his arms like the long lost brother he was to Steve was completely too much for him.  
Tony’s eyes burn in sympathy as he pulls Steve’s hand gently away from his own face and grips it firmly.   
“Don’t thank me, Cap. If you doubted for a moment that I would support you in this then I’m not the friend you needed me to be and I’m sorry.”  
Steve is trying to get words out but can’t, presumably to contradict Tony and the shorter man isn’t having it.  
“I hate all this stuff, you know I do. But if you don’t also know that I have one hundred percent got your back then I’m gonna hafta grit my teeth and say it…”  
Fresh tears are spilling from Steve’s eyes but he can’t wipe them away because Tony now has both of his hands and is looking him dead in the eye with a vulnerability he rarely shows.   
“You’re not on your own any more, Steve. And I don’t just mean because Tall, Dark and Murdery is back. We’re a family here. Bucky means a lot to you, you mean a lot to us. Ergo Bucky is part of the family.”  
Steve smiles. It’s a shifting, trembling thing but it’s there.  
Tony blinks at the revelation of how much this strong, foolishly stubborn man means to him and to his embarrassment a tear spills down his own cheek. Shit. Now he’s crying too. Oh well, Captain America is doing it.  
It looks like Tony’s unprecedented display of emotion is going to fully undo Steve so Tony reels him in with a firm but gentle hand to the back of his neck. Steve goes willingly enough but shudders with the fight to keep control. Tony hooks his chin over Steve’s shoulder and walks them back to the sofa where he pulls them both down in a tangle of limbs.   
“Let it go, Steve. You’re safe, he’s safe. It’s all ok.”  
And Steve is sobbing. Great, heaving sobs that make Tony’s throat ache to hear. He runs a hand rhythmically up and down the larger man’s back.  
“I love you, buddy.”  
Steve quiets after that and when he pulls back gently he looks terrible but happy. He opens his mouth but Tony never will let anyone have the last word and he stands quickly, wiping at his own red eyes.  
“Go check on your psychotic brother then… Huh you and Thor can compare notes now,” he laughs and before Steve can take offence he bends and presses a kiss to the top of Steve’s head. He’s out of the room before Steve can reply but that’s ok. It’s all ok.


End file.
